The impact of featuring on downloads was substantially greater for games than for apps outside of games, though being featured help both types of apps, according to an analysis by App Annie.

Featuring had a clear positive impact on app downloads (both game and non-game), with a median effect around four times larger for games.

Featured game downloads improved about 140 percent, for featured apps on iPhones (Apple App Store) between 2013 and 2016, App Annie says. Apps other than games gained perhaps 40 percent during the same time period.

The impact of featuring on iPhone downloads appears to be decreasing across the board, though at a much quicker pace for apps outside of games.

The higher rate of decline for apps is likely due to differences in the typical lifecycles of games and apps. Users tend to cycle through apps at a lower rate than games, which translates over time to less instances of users actively browsing for apps, App Annie argues.

Featuring boosted downloads as much as 480 percent in South Korea and as low as 90 percent in the United States.

The impact of featuring has been declining overall, but at a particularly high rate for apps outside of games, going from a roughly 80 percent expected download boost in the second half of 2013 to less than 25 percent in the second half of 2015.

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Gary Kim has been a communications industry analyst, consultant and journalist for more than 35 years. He currently works mostly as a content developer (marketing copy, white papers, applied research, conference and blog content.

He speaks frequently at industry events, has written one book, half a dozen major market studies and 24,000 articles. His work is noted for its examination of business model issues.

He was cited as a global "Power Mobile Influencer" by Forbes, ranked second in the world for coverage of the mobile business, and as a "top 10" telecom analyst. He is a member of Mensa, the international organization for people with IQs in the top two percent.